Rising number of asylum seekers reveals world in conflict

In late September, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported a proliferation in the number of individuals lodging asylum claims in industrialized countries.

An estimated 330,700 applications submitted during the first six months of 2014 signals a 24 percent increase compared with the corresponding period in 2013. Historically, the second half of each year has yielded higher rates of asylum-seekers; should this trend continue, the UNHCR anticipates that 2014 could produce 700,000 claims–the highest recorded figure in the past two decades.

As the number of dispossessed people seeking refuge escalates, the countries in which asylum claims are being lodged face challenging policy responses. Germany, the United States, France, Sweden, Turkey, and Italy are increasingly the target destinations for asylum-seekers.